zombeaner

Not an option for me.

DthRdrX

Holy Shit .... I'm in utter shock and actually feel terrified for some reason right now ... I just got hired by a local district.

zombeaner

Good on ya! Hopefully I'll still get lucky.

DthRdrX

Thanks! I got my fingers crossed for you. It's feels terrible playing the waiting game, even moreso when you sub for a few years and have no idea if you are wasting time or not.

yakuza70

He was probably referring to earning a teaching credential which typically takes about a year to a year and half of full time graduate level classes. As far as I know (at least I know for sure in California), to teach in the middle or high school level, you need a degree in a particular major (ie English, math, science, etc.) PLUS a single subject teaching credential. Theoretically, four year degree plus another year to year and a half to earn a preliminary teaching credential. Then once you get a teaching job you have even more college units (can't remember how many) to take as a beginning teacher to "clear" your credential to make it complete. It's a lot of money and hoops to jump through when it's all said and done. I'm pretty sure most of the general public has no idea what it takes to become a certified teacher!

My Other Self

I've been exploring and toying with the idea of becoming a history teacher out here in California and man it is a lot of work. Especially now where there's absolutely no guarantee of any sort of employment even after you get certified. It's kind of scary to think dropping money like that then still not landing a job.

MrX

Not to be a downer, but if you can't coach a sport you would probably be wasting your time and money.

My Other Self

Tell me about it. It's sad.

orangecrush

Makes you wonder how we get so many crappy teachers

SuperJim88

Open up a Lemmy's Tax Avoidance Planning Class!! Heck, I'll sign up.

Sean O'Hara

Make sure you don't have any references to DVDTalk on your Facebook page, and never mention your posting name to any students.

DthRdrX

Naw .. no facebook for me man. I have a private page but never really used it.

boredsilly

Yeah, this thread is breaking my heart. I don't get, like someone else said, how you can cut budgets in schools because it's not like there are fewer students or anything. You still need teachers, and you would think you'd want as many as possible.

Here in Baltimore, you can't keep teachers in some schools. Now, I feel lucky having some of the great teachers I did have.

indianajdp

I have not read the entire thread, so hopefull what I'm going to suggest is not a repost. If it is, well, I'm just reiterating a very valid recommendation.

Get in any way you can, including getting hired as an Instuctional Assistant, or working as a full-time substitute in a district. As an IA, you have face-time and a daily chance to make favorable impressions on potential decison-makers in that building. People will know you and hopefully trust and respect what you do...which can make a HUGE difference in even getting an interview when 50+ resumes end up on a desk for an open teaching position.

Work as a full-time sub guarantees you a gig daily and will put you in different buildings, allowing you to get to know different admin teams.

I started out as an IA in 2002, and ONLY got an inteview in 2004 because my building principal called our district HR director and demanded I be included in the process (it was for a teaching job in a different building). I just started my 7th year a couple weeks ago.

Good luck!

zombeaner

Okay, so I talked to the wife in more detail and here is the route I think I'll take:

Apply for work as a full time sub/long term sub. Hopefully that will give me 5 days a week or work.

Keep my retail job on Saturdays

Tutor ~3 nights per week

I think that will replace my income at my current job and leave enough extra to pay for my family's insurance as well as getting my face in schools.

Does this sound good to you guys?

story

To be completely honest, it sounds like a recipe for burnout. I'm trying not to be cynical here and hope things work out for you and your family, and I'm not sure what else to do, but you asked and that's how I feel. Whatever you decide, good luck.

Sean O'Hara

Are there any Indian reservations near you? I've read that it's hard to get good teachers in such places -- only hippies and religious kooks are interested in helping Indians.

zombeaner

I hope not, my original plan was to work 5 days a week as a sub and find a part time job 2 days a week. At least with my new plan I get one day off every week. I see where you're coming from, I can at least tell myself that it is a means toward an end.

NotThatGuy

You can thank the teacher's unions for this....they don't like competition from outside people.

*edit*

As for your plan...for the short-term it should be fine, but burnout is definitely a consideration if you have to go 1+ yrs. My hat is off to anyone who teaches K-12, I would definitely burn out having to deal with the kids, parents, administration, etc.

zombeaner

I'm hoping to at least get a long term placement somewhere in the first year, I think that would be most advantageous for everyone.

In any case, based upon what I've heard from other teachers and people here and elsewhere, subbing is the best way to get a foot in the door, and that is what I need.

fujishig

They have to cut somewhere, and with unions there's no such thing as hiring/firing based on merit, so new teachers get screwed while older teachers making higher salaries hold on for retirement.

NotThatGuy

Yet another win for unions!! Screw fairness!

yakuza70

You could make the argument the other way too. A district, in an attempt to save money, could fire all the higher paid teachers in favor of new ones that make less money even if the higher paid teachers were better teachers. Having a union prevents this practice. In a way, some districts already do something similar by hiring only new teachers fresh out of college instead of experienced ones so they don't have to pay as much money for salaries.

NotThatGuy

OR...they could make it merit-based and select THE BEST teachers, regardless of union affiliation and tenure.

zombeaner

Merit is VERY difficult to measure on an empirical level.